PHILIP (PHIL NEUMAN) NEWMAN, Bio, Granite Co., MT Indexed and contributed for use in USGenWeb Project by: Wendy Garner USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. © 1998 by Wendy Garner. This file may be freely copied for non- profit purposes. All other rights reserved. PHILIP (PHIL NEUMAN) NEWMAN Born: Place: Died: Place: Occupation: Sawmill owner, carpenter at Garnet, Montana. Married: he never married. Phil Neuman owned a large steam engin powered saw mill located on Anderson Hill near Garnet. Lumber for Garnet's buildings and for the mills and mines were produced here. Phil Neuman is best known for a house he built called the "Gingerbread" house and the story behind it. Phil Neuman fell in love with a young lady from the red light district of Garnet. He thought nothing was too much for her and when she asked for a gingerbread mansion that is what he built. Phil Neuman designed a mansion for her with a porch encircling the house, and open stairway, a dining room with varnished woodwork, a library... in every way an exquisite house. He spent many tedious hours turning the porch posts and railing spindles by hand in his saw mill below the building site. All the carpentry work was correct to a 1/16th inch. He carefully beveled the corners of the blocks above each porch post and carefully spaced the rafters which he cut in this own sawmill. He made spindled decoration for the top of the inside of the bay window, spent long hours making the chamfered sliding doors which still operate as well as any in a millionaire's mansion. He built an overhanging balcony opening on the second floor from which his bride could gaze at the blue ranges of mountains stretching off into the western sunsets. He hauled a piano up the extremely steep grade of Anderson Hill and obtained a new Majestic Range from the Missoula Mercantile. Phil put his heart and time into making this house perfect, but before he finished the girl of his dreams left for the bright lights of Helena. One day she took the stage and was gone. Phil stopped construction and lived in the unfinished house. The house testifying to his love was burned by arsonists in 1971. Phil Neuman did build another house. In the spring of 1911 he began construction of the Joseph Fitzgerald house up Dublin Gulch making it the finest house for miles around. The first and only house in Garnet with a concrete foundation. The house demonstrated Phil Neuman's architectural designs and outstanding craftsmanship. Bibliography: Hammond, Helen 1983. Garnet-Montana's Last Gold Camp, Acme Press, Missoula, Montana.